Population Growth

Question 1

what is population growth?

Answer 1

population growth refers to the change in population size, whether positive, negative or none at all

Question 2

what is population explosion?

Answer 2

a rapid increase in population

Question 3

what is crude birth rate?

Answer 3

the number of live births per 1000 people per year

Question 4

what is crude death rate?

Answer 4

the number of deaths per 1000 people per year

Question 5

what is net natural increase?

Answer 5

the difference between birth rate and death rate

Question 6

what is immigration?

Answer 6

people entering a country

Question 7

what is emigration

Answer 7

people leaving a country

Question 8

what is net migration?

Answer 8

the difference between immigration and emigration

Question 9

what is the total fertility rate?

Answer 9

the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years of the specified year

Question 10

what is infant mortality rate?

Answer 10

under-one mortality rate is the probability per 1000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching the age of 1, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year

Question 11

what are some causes of high death rates?

Answer 11

• diseases (chlorea, malnutrition, plague), famines, wars, and natural disasters
• lack of access to stable food supply, poor diet, famine
• poor hygiene (lack of access to clean water supplies and waste disposal)
• poor medical and healthcare –> few doctors, hospitals, and drugs
• short life expectancy of <50 years

Question 12

what are some causes of high birth rate?

Answer 12

• lack of family planning and birth control
• low female literacy
• some religious beliefs (catholicism and islam) encourage large familys
• high infant mortality rate, so parents have more kids to ensure survival of a few
• children needed for farm labour

Question 13

what are some causes of low/declining death rate?

Answer 13

death rate will decrease when infant mortality rate is decreased and life expectancy is increased due to:
- improved medical care (vaccines. new drugs, doctors, hospitals)
- improved hygiene and sanitation
- improved food production, storage, and hence nutrition
- economic growth and higher income for better healthcare access

Question 14

what are some causes of low/declining birth rate?

Answer 14

• better family planning and access to birth control options
• government policies (e/g china’s one-child policy)
• lower infant mortality –> less pressure to have children
• industrialization and mechanization reduce the need for laborers
• higher cost of living –> expensive to bring up children –> fewer children
• increased female education and employment –> improved status of women, later marriages, shorter childbearing years

Question 15

what are the four stages of a demographic transition model?

Answer 15

stage 1: high stationary
- high birth rate + high death rate
- both birth rate and death rate are fluctuating, giving rise to slow population growth

stage 2: early expanding
- high birth rate + falling death rates
- steady rise in population growth

stage 3: late expanding
- rapidly falling birth rate + slightly falling death rate
- giving rise to a slowly increasing population

stage 4: low fluctuating
- low fluctuating birth rate + low fluctuating death rate
- population growth is steady

Question 16

what are some impacts of rapid population growth?

Answer 16

• strain on natural resources like food and water, leading to hunger, malnutrition, and water shortage
• creates strain on public infrastructure like housing, education and healthcare facilities
• increase in working population –> increased demand for more jobs –> formation of informal sectors
• may spur migration as people look elsewhere for job opportunities
• family planning needs to be carried out to cut down birth rate

Question 17

what are some impacts of ageing population?

Answer 17

• shrinking of workforce and economically active population
• the government may raise the retirement age to address workforce shortages
• fewer workers lead to a loss of competitiveness and companies need to pay higher wages to attract and keep employees
• country becomes less attractive to investors, slowing economic growth
• increased old-age dependency burden as there are fewer working people supporting more retirees
• strain on social security, financial support, and social welfare services
• older adults require more medical care, increasing healthcare costs and straining government funds
• pressure on healthcare systems due to increased demand for elderly care
• fewer men available for national defense
• rapid increase in number of migrant and foreign workers to fill workforce gaps